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Johannesburg - Reports on FNB’s "You Can Help"
campaign need to differentiate between television advertisements and survey
clips, the bank said on Tuesday.

"Some media reports fail to differentiate between
the TV advert itself and the survey interview clips, and it is important to
provide this clarity," FNB chief marketing officer Bernice Samuels said in
a statement.

The New Age reported on Tuesday that the advert was
scripted and that the children who participated were paid R3 500 a day.

Samuels confirmed that the advert was scripted
"based on key themes from the survey conducted by an independent research
firm".

"The children who took part in the TV advert
received performance fees and [this] is standard industry practice."

Samuels said the children's survey interview clips were
not scripted.

"We further clarify that the survey conducted
captured all 1 300 of the respondents interviewed and their responses on
camera. These responses were their own views and were not scripted or
censored," she said.

"We confirm that the children were not paid to
participate in the survey."

Samuels reportedly said that while the casting interviews
were "unscripted, uncensored and very much from the heart", the final
advert was scripted and approved by the bank's marketing team.

The newspaper reported that a call sheet from Take Ten
Casting confirmed that "the advert was in no way a spontaneous or natural
gathering of young South Africans", but that each participant was
"carefully selected".

FNB met ANC leaders, including Secretary-General Gwede
Mantashe, about the adverts on Thursday, and apologised to the ANC on Friday.

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